


Second Best

by Soawksahm (socawkSAHM)



Series: Fairy Tail One-Shots [4]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Being a Good Friend, F/M, struggling with sadness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-28
Updated: 2016-07-28
Packaged: 2018-07-27 08:12:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7610431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/socawkSAHM/pseuds/Soawksahm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A few months after the disband of fairy tail, Lucy and Loke have a fight.  Loke decides to be the bigger man and apologize  (for the challenge Second Best from ftfanfics on tumblr)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Second Best

Loke took a deep breath and closed his eyes to center himself. He was going to try again, but to be successful he would have to be calm. Last time he opened his gate to visit Lucy it had ended with her shouting and throwing nearly an entire bookshelf at him when he refused to leave.

He had been so angry. So angry that he had shouted back that he would never open his gate again, their contract might as well be void. If she wanted to be alone, so be it. Now he regretted those words so much. If only he could turn back time, if only he had left before he lost his temper, if only he had thought before he spoke!

It had taken almost the entire first hour back to calm down. Loke had crankily stormed the spiritual world, picking fights with anyone foolish enough to cross his path. Then he had spent the next hour feeling sorry for himself and pouting in the corner. Another hour in quiet contemplation, finally coming to terms with how wrong he had been. Now he was coming up on forty-five minutes of trying to convince himself to open his gate and try again. Unfortunately that meant two weeks for Lucy. Now it would be nearly a month since Lucy had called any of her spirits to her side. Through their bond he could feel her weaken. He could feel the weight of her sadness and it pained him even more than if it had been his own.

On reflection Loke realized it wasn't Lucy's fault, she never intended to hurt them. She never intended to leave her spirits behind, she was just too sad to be herself. She didn't realize how painful it was to be so close to her and yet so far away. She didn't understand how much it hurt him to not be enough, to love her so fiercely and not have that emotion returned. How it killed him when she looked up and her eyes were only disappointment that it was just Loke, just her spirit. It wasn't her fault that Loke wasn't the person she was waiting for.

Where the hell was Natsu anyway? The oaf's timing was impeccable as usual, not only leaving Lucy immediately after her traumatic experience of losing Aquarius, but also right before the old man made the terrible decision to disband. Loke was sure the dragon slayer was traipsing through the countryside, blissfully unaware of the disaster he had left behind. Loke had tried again and again to find Natsu, but he had become like a ghost, leaving nothing but whispers and legends in his wake.

One more deep breath and Loke opened his gate into Lucy's apartment. At the sight of it, his heart broke. Empty take out containers and dirty clothes littered the room. The books that had been thrown at him just a few weeks before were still in the places they had fallen. Her desk and the floor around it were an explosion of papers, as if she had torn the thing apart. Her bed was a mess of blankets and pushed aside dirty laundry. Her lovely home had become a tragic disaster.

Blond hair peeked out from beneath the covers but she showed no signs of sensing his presence. Loke used the opportunity to tiptoe into her kitchen. He found an empty fridge and empty cabinets, a full sink, and a bowl of rotted fruit. Over it all, a cloud of fruit flies enjoying the feast.

Loke fell against the door frame and ran a hand through his hair. How could she do this to herself? Was she eating at all? Was she bathing? How could his strong, happy princess live in such filth? How could he have not noticed earlier that her light was growing dim? Why had he left her all alone?

He firmed his jaw then removed his jacket. On setting it down, Loke rolled up his sleeves and got to work. First he found the rotten fruit a new home in the waste bin. Then he washed the dishes and put them back where they belonged. Next he returned to the main room. With utmost care, he returned her papers to a tidy stack, grateful for the page numbers in the lower corner of each page. Laundry all went to the hamper in the corner, each book returned to it's home on the shelves, and all the take out containers found a place with the rotted fruit.

When he returned from taking out the trash, he felt like he could finally breath and think. He pulled up a chair next to her bed and sat. Loke watched Lucy sleep with a frown on his face. Now that he looked at her more closely, he could see the damage of her self-neglect. She looked thinner, her cheeks more hollow, and her face was blotchy and red. Her eyes fell into dark circles and her lips appeared chewed and chapped. She was still beautiful, to him she would always be, but seeing her like this was heartrending.

It was so natural to touch her that Loke didn't think when he put out a hand to gently push the hair from her eyes. When she scrunched up her face in protest, he cringed. He should have let her sleep. Though he attempted to gently retreat, it was too late. Her eyes blinked slowly and when recognition dawned, they flew open wide.

She sat up quickly, blankets falling away from a small tanktop that fit her so snugly it normally would have made Loke ache. Today however, the sorrow in her eyes made it easy to concentrate on her face. Especially when she whispered, "I worried you wouldn't come back."

He moved to sit on the bed next to her and sighed, frowning down at his hands. "Lucy, I'm sorry, I was selfish and cruel in your time of need. You deserved better from me, and I let you down."

Her hand was soft and cool on his cheek. He looked up at her and though she was smiling, tears fell down her face. "You could never let me down Loke."

She hugged him tightly and though he didn't feel he deserved it, he cherished it. She felt smaller, more fragile. Ever so softly she whispered, "Loke, I'm so sad."

He rubbed her back and responded, "I know."

"I don't want to be sad anymore," she hiccuped.

"Then let's work on that."

She pulled out of his hold and rubbed her eyes, "How?"

"Lucy, you need something to eat, you need to get out of this apartment. Let me take you to dinner tomorrow."

Lucy sighed, "Loke, look at me, I can't go anywhere like this."

"Then let's summon Cancer to fix your hair, I know he's been dying to get his hands on your locks. We'll get you some clean clothes, I bet Virgo has a lovely maid outfit you could fit into."

"Loke . . ." Lucy rolled her eyes and Loke's heart leapt, there was the spunky girl he remembered. Then she looked down at her hands and frowned. "I'm just not sure. . ."

Desperate to not lose the light that had begun to peek through, Loke grabbed hold of her hands, bringing her attention back to him. "I know I don't deserve it after my behavior but Lucy let me take care of you when you can't," Loke begged. "It would just be a warm meal and a bit of fresh air."

Lucy hesitated, but then with a little smile, she nodded, "Okay Loke, I would like that."

He hopped off the bed with a grin and fluffed her pillow. Then he patted it and ordered, "Now let's get you back to sleep so you can be well rested for your date."

She breathed out a laugh and laid her head down obediently. "You silly lion, it's not a date."

He pulled the covers over her, straightening them as best he could. "Did I say date? I meant dinner between two friends that might lead to one falling madly in love with the other."

She wrapped herself up in the covers and murmured, "Loke?"

He knelt down next to her and whispered, "Yes princess."

Lucy smiled sweetly and said "Thank you for coming back to me."

Loke took hold of the one hand peeking out from beneath the sheets and kissed it. "Always princess."

He stood and stepped away, sad to remove himself from her side but knowing she would need her rest. "Tomorrow night then."

Lucy smiled just a little bit wider, "I'm looking forward to it."

He disappeared from her view and in the spirit world stepped off quickly. Loke only had ten minutes to find his fellow spirits. Cancer to help Lucy feel like herself again. Virgo to make sure Lucy's house was dusted and vacuumed and her fridge filled with good things to eat. Their princess had never needed them more than she did right now and he was determined to get her back on her feet.


End file.
